Bluffton football can make a statement in Class AAAA

I had heard a lot of talk around town about the intensity of Bluffton High's rivalry with Hilton Head Island, but it wasn't until the week of the Bridge Bowl that I observed it firsthand.

It started on the Monday before the game, when several Bluffton players joked before practice about scoring 100 points on the Seahawks. At least they seemed to be joking. They almost turned out to be prescient, as the Bobcats finished about three touchdowns short of the century mark in their 80-14 victory.

There aren't many places where a football team can talk semi-seriously about "busting the clock," a term you hear more often in high school basketball. But Bluffton, home of a talented, multi-faceted and well-run pistol offense, is one of them.

I doubt you'll hear similar talk around the Bobcats' athletic facilities for the rest of the season, though.

The Bobcats wanted to make a statement in the Bridge Bowl, as defensive tackle K.J. Ford told me, in part because their mascot wound up on the 50-yard line of Hilton Head's stadium in May.

But with region play starting Friday against Beaufort, they no longer need to score a ton of points to get their point across. They simply need to keep winning.

This is Bluffton's first season in SCHSL Class AAAA, as you probably know, and head coach Ken Cribb said in the preseason that their No. 1 goal is to prove they can compete at that level.

The competition will no doubt be stiffer, especially if the Bobcats manage to make a long run through the playoffs. If nothing else, the teams will be deeper and more talented.

There are questions statewide about how Bluffton will fit in at the Class AAAA level, but I doubt many people are counting them out. The team has answered such questions before, following a surprise 2010 regular season with an appearance in the Lower State final and building upon high expectations with last year's second-place finish in Class AAA.

If they win their region games, the Bobcats will find themselves in the 16-team Division II playoff bracket. Then they'll have an opportunity to prove themselves on the field.

No need to worry about style points.

Sports reporter Lawrence Conneff may be reached at lawrence.conneff@blufftontoday.com or 843-815-0800, Ext. 12. Follow him on Twitter at @BlufftonSports.

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